title: Expression and prognostic relevance of MET and phospho-BAD in non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  MET is involved in the progression of several types of human cancers, while phospho-BAD(Ser-136) is a key molecule in apoptosis and might be regulated by MET. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between altered expression of MET and phospho-BAD in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their association with clinicopathologic parameters and overall survival.
  
  
  METHODS
  MET and phospho-BAD(Ser-136) proteins were evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis in 183 paraffin-embedded specimens and were also assessed by Western blotting analysis in 12 frozen tumor tissue samples, which were representative examples of immunohistochemical staining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Positive expression of MET and phospho-BAD(Ser-136) occurred in 67.2% and 49.2% of the 183 cases of NSCLC, respectively. However, neither MET expression nor phospho-BAD(Ser-136) expression was associated with any clinicopathologic parameter. A significant correlation was found between MET and phospho-BAD(Ser-136) expression levels evaluated by immunohistochemistry (r = 0.268, P < 0.001). Overexpression of MET was significantly associated with shortened overall survival in univariate analysis (P < 0.001). Moreover, patients with a MET+/phospho-BAD(Ser-136)+ phenotype had a poorer prognosis than others (P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis confirmed that MET expression is a prognostic factor for NSCLC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MET expression might be correlated with phospho-BAD(Ser-136) expression, and may be an adverse predictor for NSCLC. Activation of the MET/phospho-BAD(Ser-136) signaling pathway might play a role in the development and progression of NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wenze
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ai
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Yingbing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
keywords: MET; non-small cell lung cancer; phospho-BAD; prognosis